Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau

Staff in the office of U.S. Sen. Carl Levin are today knocking down speculation that Levin won’t seek a seventh term in 2014 after he filed an anemic fund-raising report for the last quarter of 2012.

Levin, D-Mich., reported raising only $13,206 between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

But Levin spokeswoman Tara Andringa said pundits shouldn’t read much into that report.

“He has said all along that he’d make a decision in the beginning part of this year,” Andringa said in an e-mail to the Free Press. “I expect a decision in the next few weeks.”

She said Levin, 78, doesn’t tend to raise much money until he makes a decision or an announcement about whether he is running and once he makes a decision he is able to raise money quickly.

She pointed to 12 years ago, when Levin was at a similar point in the election cycle and raised only $12,610 in the fourth quarter of 2000.

Six years ago — again at a similar point in the election cycle — Levin raised $222,330 in the last quarter of 2006. But his officials said that year was different because Levin made a December announcement of his intention to seek re-election and raised money that month.

Despite raising only $13,000 in the last quarter of 2012, Levin has a cash balance of about $232,000 in his campaign fund, records show.

By comparison, his balance at this time 12 years ago was only $27,000.